


Fire & Whispers

by Spacecarrots



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Bc he also needs love and looking after, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Inferno centric, M/M, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 04:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14229738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacecarrots/pseuds/Spacecarrots
Summary: Inferno takes a lot of shit! Not all of it he can handle alone...





	Fire & Whispers

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited, “I’m Ill and bedridden and really wanted to write them!”, that I’ll probably come back to add to! 
> 
> Also yes I am aware Amica Endura is like next level bffs but theres no middle (which is where they are) between that and Conjunx for one, and for two ya’ll might find out in a later chapter that I’m all about those secret relationships where the idiots involved pretend to be friends??? We shall see...
> 
> Enjoy!

Unfortunately, it was a sound that Red Alert knew all too well. The sound of Inferno’s spark breaking. Rare as it was before he would only listened to it like he did the many noises that mechs on the Ark made. But this time was different. This time he got up out of his chair, locked down the security, and drove to where Inferno was pressed against the wall, trying to find what little privacy he could in his moment of vulnerability.

The sound stopped when his engine neared the med bay, some poor attempt to stay unseen, so Red Alert quickly comm’d Ratchet to make it so that he was bothering him for security reasons.

Around the corner in an alcove Inferno stayed very still as he listened to Red Alert talk to Ratchet over the comms, asking him why the medbay was shut off, when he’d be able to do checks, what the mechs insides statues were. He couldn’t help but have his sadness momentarily shone upon by Red Alert’s little quips at Ratchet’s angry dismissals. Alright then, oh keep your tailpipe on. Yes Doctor I promise not to loose my manifolds. And then there was the sound of the familiar sound of his t-cog, stubbornly, wearily, clunching him into shape, before his engines purred away. Once he was gone Inferno let out a shaky breath, and put his helm in his hands, only to realise he was still filthy with dirt and energon. Energon that hadn’t needed to spill if he hadn’t been such a damn idiot, if he’d been patient, and calm. Ifs, buts, and maybes filled his throat and made his breathing ragged. Tears welled up in his optics again as he remembered Cliffjumper’s venomous anger. He’d never been made to hurt mechs, he’d never wanted to, they told him too, it would have been him if he hadn’t.

“‘Ferno?” Red Alert said softly. Inferno nearly jumped out of his skin, and immediately straightened, wiping his optics and composing himself back into the happy-go-lucky spark he was so used to seeing in his Amica.

“Red!” He forcefully beamed, “hey, whatcha ‘doin here?”

“Looking for you, of course.” Came Red Alert’s gentle reply. Inferno gave a bashful laugh, but Red Alert wasn’t quite sure how much of it was put on for his sake. He frowned, and rubbed his arm when Inferno tried to remain casual. “Are you okay? What’s happened? Why are you hiding?”

“Who me? Hiding?” Inferno exclaimed, immediately removing himself from the alcove, folding his arms and embellishing a wide grin on his face. “I’m good, had a tough fight, but who-who said I was hiding?”

Just then the doors to the med bay opened and out walked a few battered looking members of the ark, Cliffjumper among them. Red saw red and Inferno’s jaw clenched like a vice, posture tightening tall and threatening. Red Alert looked to the mechs and saw Mirage, clamping a hand down into the minibots shoulder, despite his clenched fists and hisses of protest. Mirage didn’t look to kindly at the firetruck either, and Inferno turned his the other way to close his optics and vent slowly.

With a gentle hand Red Alert took hold of Inferno’s elbow and guided him to the security room. There he let them both in and locked the door behind him.

“You’ve got ten minutes before you’ll be called to a briefing, and in that time I want you to go and get cleaned up.” Red Alert turned his back, and placed himself before the reinforced glass to keep watch. He guarded to entrance to Inferno’s vulnerable spark as he poured his spark out through heaving sobs. When his time was up, Red Alert said so, and turned to his Amica as he tried to choke down the rest of his feelings.

“Go to your room,” Red Alert said, cupping his face, and brushing away to streaks his tears had left on his grubby face. “Wash you faceplates and your servos.” Inferno closed his optics, and nodded pressing his face into Red Alert’s palm. “And when my shift is done, I’ll come and find you, okay?”

Inferno nodded stiffy, “Okay.”

2

It was odd when Inferno didn’t meet Red Alert for breakfast, and of course immediately Red Alert processed this down to SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED. Inferno, knowing him well, had allotted a ten minute panic gap, where in which Red Alert had to take a deep breath and just wait for him. That big smile was more that enough to distract him in the meantime as he considered Inferno’s destructive tendencies, and poor time keeping. So, instead of jumping off the walls imagining the mech dead in a ditch having found him too late. Instead of pacing the recreational room convinced this was it this was the time he’d left to join the decepticon. Instead of sounding the alarms and going off at Prowl for letting him get away with having a fake Amica for so long. They’d learnt from their mistakes, and Red Alert got his energon as usual, and waited the ten minutes. Of course he spent the ten minutes sitting in the corner, eavesdropping on every conversation that might lead to a hint of his whereabouts;

haha yeah bro we got torqued on the uhhh energon.

Oh primus, I had that virus for a week, did nothing for my complexion.

I flipped him the bird, chu-yeah I know he could kick my aft that’s why I did it.

Drills? Uch I can’t keep kissing aft like this, my lip plates are gonna fall off-No! Don’t-take that out of context

I think it was from the smelting fire. Red Alert’s interest peaked, Inferno had been in that. He remembered the fire truck coming home jubilant and coughing up his intakes. Trying to act as if nothing had changed, Red Alert listened to Hound chatting with Mirage.

“Didn’t realise I had all micro rust particles up in my intakes. Beautiful as it is, the whole way that Earth metals like our return to their natural state, Still had me sicker than a datadog.” He said, sipping on his ration.

“Hound,” Mirage began, then rolled his optics. “Your take on a virus that had us both bedridden for two days is just...you're a sweetie don’t worry about it.”

Red Alert finished his ration with one gulp. He had thought Inferno had looked a little ashen, but had foolishly - no, logically - choked it up to the grimy way Inferno often returned from the field. Ohhh, okay he could put a little burst of speed on.

Inferno awoke with a start as his bex-room door shut, and shook the whole room. He sat up like a jack-in-the-box as his chronometer sluggishly brought itself to life, and groaned as his helm spun.

“Red?” He wheezed, as the smaller bot came and sat on his berth. “You shouldn’t be here you could get sick!” He protested, albeit weakly, it was nice to have someone to notice his absence. More often than not he was the one that brought missing mechs to light. Red Alert smiled thoughtfully, and pressed his shoulder back down to the berth.

“Don’t worry,” He opened his trunk and pulled out a tray of various minerals and metals and energon. “I’ve got you covered.”

Inferno looked at him shocked, and amazed. “H-how did you know I was ill?”

Red Alert’s brow knitted, “You didn’t hear me come it the first time?” Drowsily Inferno shook his helm. Reassuringly, Red Alert patted his chest, and guided him down to lay against the berth. “Looks like I’ll have to keep an optic on you.” He winked, with extra creepiness, though it wasn’t a lie, no more than it wouldn’t be the first, or the last time he would watch over him.

“I feel safer already.” He humed. Unabashedly, Inferno loved Red Alert’s attention, loved his attentive affectionate, as much as his company, and sidled up to his side with a sleepy smile. As Red Alert showed him the pain killer and nanite booster he was putting in his energon. And Inferno comfortably fell back into recharge with his face against Red Alert’s thigh, and his servo resting on his helm.

3

Inferno often didn’t like being quiet, but when he did the best place to be quiet was Red Alert’s room. Probably why it mostly went untouched. It was soundproofed, quintuple locked, and it had been suggested that Red Alert should turn off his audials to achieve a richer recharge. The real reason why Red Alert bothered to do so when he did sleep was because Ratchet had threatened degradation of his hearing overtime if he didn’t take care if them. But that’s another story.

Inferno mostly liked it because he could wake up without being penalised for rattling the box-rooms down with his cacophonous snoring.

The box room, the throwdown, transform, room-on-the-go were the solution Hoist and Grapple had come up with for the Arks lack of long term living quarters. It was not much better than comunal recharge slabs, which were tediously packed enough. But they give the illusion of privacy. Until one such fog horn of a snorer comes along to ruin everyone's fun.

“You don’t need to be so forgiving, what they did was mean.” Red Alert said, playing with Inferno’s fingers draped around his shoulder.

“It’s just ‘em jokin’ around, Red, I don’t mind.” Or at least he hadn’t, when it was just handing out earmuffs when at the entrance to floor. Inferno had been able to joke about that and made a pretty penny making Sideswipe cave. Until things had gone, as they normally do, too far.

“What made them think it would be funny to fill your mouth with cleaning foam? Honestly, ‘Ferno give me their names, I'm sure I have something that can turn their pain grey.”

“Now, Red, come’on,” Inferno smiled, he was tempted but…”I’d’nit you who’s always sayin’, Don’t fight Fire wit’Fire?” Red Alert raised a digit to make an excuse but decided that the way his Althexian accent turns Fire into something closer to far, with bonus r’s, he huffed and sidled closer, pressing his lips to Inferno’s cheek.

“Yes, but I love it, how dare they.”

Inferno chuffed, “Why?” Red Alert sat up.

“Well, for starter it helps me concentrate on one thing, rather than hunting for something to listen to.” Inferno watched the stretch of plating as Red Alert turned off the bedside lamp.

“Go it, It’s really loud so it drowns out all other noise good.” In the dark Red Alert cycled up his optics causing Inferno to flinch and chuckle through an Aw! Smirking, bouring his optics into Inferno’s, Red Alert continued,

“Plus, your engine purrs when you snore, it very relaxing.”

Inferno optics unmistakably dialed up in brightness in the still room. With a bashful smile Inferno beckoned Red Alert back into his arms, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Ready?” He asked when he’d finished peppering kisses over Red Alert. Through a giggle, Red Alert nodded,

“Ready.” And when Inferno had fallen asleep, Red Alert shut off his audials, and let Inferno’s systems rumble through his like the wash of waves, vibrate against his audials, and sing him to sleep.


End file.
